Current medical news and unique business news for anyone who cares about healthcare.
Bayer gets FDA boost. The FDA granted fast-track status to Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals’ experimental prostate cancer treatment designed to release radioactive particles that target tumors, suggesting that the drug has blockbuster potential and may be on the market by 2012. Bayer will be able to submit its marketing application step-by-step rather than all at once and have the FDA’s review expedited. The German pharma giant’s shares jumped 3 percent yesterday after the announcement.
NIH re-examines disclosure guidelines. The National Institutes of Health released new guidelines regarding financial conflict-of-interest disclosure for researchers who get NIH grants. One new change is the lowering of the threshold at which researchers must report financial interests to their institutions.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Emergency preparedness: There’s an app for that. Coincidentally in sync with yesterday’s earthquake, the Department of Health and Human Services has launched the “Lifeline Facebook App Challenge,” a contest to develop an app that would use Facebook to help people make connections and strengthen their preparedness in the wake of a pandemic or natural disaster.
A painless, needle-free glucose reader. The public got its first look at Echo Therapeutics’ Symphony needle-less glucometer when the company posted a video of the device, which is in clinical trials, on its website last week.
Can Google+ transform healthcare? Steve Dickman and Rich Whalley say yes. They suggest that Google’s core strengths give Google+ the ability to become the premier user-generated health resource.
